Eagles, lions, coyotes, bears: Walk on the wild side might be closer than you think

The number of raccoons in San Francisco might stun out-of-towners, but families of 10 and more have been reported at Lake Merced. Photo: Photo Fees/Special to The Chronicle

The way things are going, next thing you know, a Bigfoot sighting will be reported in Golden Gate Park.

Over the weekend, my sister, Susan, sighted a red-tailed hawk dive-bombing a bald eagle. This was on the south Peninsula, in the foothills above Palo Alto.

Just a few years ago, this would have been front-page news. Now it appears a mated pair of bald eagles have taken up permanent residence in the Crystal Springs watershed. They also have been sighted many times near hidden Felt Lake on off-limits Stanford land near Interstate 280.

Bald eagles like lakes with plenty of fish. They have been sighted at Lake Chabot, Del Valle, San Pablo, Contra Loma, Lexington and what seems a flyway between the Napa-Sonoma marsh on west to Soulajule and Nicasio reservoirs.

The expansion of wildlife populations is a landmark theme this year in the Bay Area:

Mountain lion: This summer, a mountain lion was caught on a motion-activated camera walking down the sidewalk at Seacliff, then again near Lake Merced, right in San Francisco.

Coyotes: The population of coyotes continues to expand in San Francisco. Readers have sent me more than 25 locations of sightings.The hot spots are Stern Grove, Twin Peaks and near the Olympic Club and other golf courses.

Raccoons: The number of raccoons in San Francisco might stun out-of-towners, but families of 10 and more have been reported at Lake Merced. Across the western region of the city near open space, raccoons often are drawn to cat food left in backyards.

Bear: In the past few years, bear scat has been verified at four locations in the Marin watershed, though there have been no bear sightings in Marin since 2003. But last summer, a bear walked right into the backyard of a resident’s home in Monterey, where it was darted by wildlife officials and transported to Los Padres National Forest.

Golden eagles: As winter arrives, golden eagles arrive to Sunol Regional Wilderness and the Los Vaqueros watershed. The recent news that the eagle-killing wind turbines at nearby Altamont have been shut down and will be replaced is a celebrated event to protect them.

Bigfoot: Judging by some of the humanoid forms that have taken up residence at Golden Gate Park, perhaps a Bigfoot sighting will occur in the coming weeks.